Netherlands: Land and People Netherlands Land and People The Netherlands has 12 provinces: Zeeland , South Holland , North Holland , Friesland , and Groningen , all of which border on the North Sea; and North Brabant , Limburg , Gelderland , Utrecht , Flevoland , Overijssel , and Drenthe . The country is mostly low-lying. About 40% of it is situated below sea level and comprises territory (mostly in the western part of the country) reclaimed from the sea since the 13th cent. and guarded by dunes and dikes. The land is crossed by drainage canals, and the main rivers, the Scheldt, Maas (Fr., Meuse ), IJssel, Waal, and Lower Rhine, are canalized and interconnected by artificial waterways, linked with the river and canal systems of Belgium and Germany. The Scheldt estuary includes the former islands of Walcheren, North Beveland, and South Beveland. The West Frisian Islands are located off the northern coast of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is extremely densely populated.

The maritime provinces include many of the famous cities of the Netherlands—Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the chief ports) and The Hague, Leiden , Delft , Utrecht, Dordrecht , Schiedam , and Vlissingen (Flushing). In addition, Alkmaar , Gouda , and Edam are internationally known as cheese markets, and Haarlem is the center of the flower-raising district. The inland provinces have generally poor and sandy soil. Leading cities include Breda , 's Hertogenbosch , Eindhoven , and Tilburg in North Brabant; Maastricht and Heerlen in Limburg; and Arnhem and Nijmegen in Gelderland. Linguistic conformity to Dutch, the official language, is complete except in Friesland, where Frisian is spoken in places. After the Netherlands obtained independence in the late 16th cent., it became largely Protestant. Now, however, Roman Catholics, concentrated in the southern provinces, make up the largest religious group (31%), while about 20% are Protestant. Muslims are a small but growing minority; some 40% of the population claims no religious affiliation.

The archbishop of Utrecht is the Roman Catholic primate of the Netherlands. Sections in this article: HollandHistory.net - information about The Netherlands, also known as Holland Amsterdam Holland , Tulip Time , Rembrandt van Ryn , Hendrick Hudson , Dutch Golden Age , William the Silent Prince , 1572 Den Briel , Flushing Holland , Dutch Herring , Holland Photo The Netherlands is located in Western Europe, bordered by Germany, Belgium and the North Sea. The country is divided into 12 provinces: Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Flevoland, Gelderland, Utrecht, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg. The country is officially named "The Kingdom of the Netherlands", but is often called Holland after the provinces North and South Holland. Amsterdam is the capital city of The Netherlands; the government is situated in The Hague (Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage) . Rotterdam is a major city and the biggest port in Europe. Netherlands Provinces Buy data Donate Updates: A regional government is being planned for Flevoland, Noord-Holland, and Utrecht.

Money to cover the expenses of the transition is being figured in for 2017. ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-3 is dated 2011-12-15. This update assigns alternate ISO codes to the territories in the Caribbean. Erratum: In "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", the capital of Flevoland is given as Dronten. It is actually Lelystad. Apparently Dronten was the capital at an earlier period. International standard ISO 3166-2 was published on December 15, 1998. It superseded ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard). For Netherlands, the draft standard showed twelve provinces with their codes. In brackets, it also listed an administrative area (Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders) and two municipalities (Dronten and Lelystad). These three were redundant, because in 1986 they had been merged into the new province of Flevoland, which was one of the twelve provinces shown. The final standard has dropped the administrative area and the municipalities. It now lists only the twelve provinces, as they were in the draft standard.

Country overview: Amsterdam, The Hague The Netherlands have been independent for the whole of the 20th century. They have extended their territory by reclaiming land from the sea. Technically, Amsterdam is the capital of the country, and The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch) is its seat of government. Almost all of the governmental functions are headquartered in The Hague. The inauguration of a new king or queen takes place in Amsterdam. Other names of country: Holland and its cognates technically refer only to the provinces of North and South Holland, but they are popularly used for the whole country. Danish: Holland, Kongeriget Nederlandene (formal) Dutch: Nederland, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (formal) English: Kingdom of the Netherlands (formal) Finnish: Alankomaat, Hollanti Area: Land area. Postal codes: Netherlands uses a system of postal codes consisting of four digits, one space, and two letters. The system made its debut in 1976. Unlike other European countries, Netherlands discourages the use of a country prefix. The borders of postal code areas do not match well with province borders.

Further subdivisions: The provinces are subdivided into gemeenten (municipalities or parishes; sing. gemeente). The number of municipalities has decreased from 1,014 in 1948 to 840 in 1976, 572 in 1997, and 418 in 2011. Territorial extent: Flevoland consists of three polders. Noord-Oost Polder is connected to the mainland; East and South Flevoland form an island in the IJsselmeer, except for some dikes which link them to shore. Friesland includes part of the Dutch mainland and the West Frisian Islands (Waddeneilanden) from Vlieland in the west to Schiermonnikoog in the east. Groningen includes a few small islands in the Frisian chain: Rottumerplaat, Rottumeroog, Zuiderstrand, and Simonszand. Noord-Holland includes the islands of Texel and Noorderhaaks, at the southwest end of the Frisian chain.

Zeeland includes a mainland part, the islands of Schouwen Duiveland, Tholen, Noord-Beveland and Sint Philipsland, and the peninsula of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. Note that the many dikes and canals make it hard to define what is and is not an island. Zuid-Holland includes the islands of Goeree-Overflakkee, Voorne-Putten, Beijerland-Hoekse Waard, IJsselmonde, and Dordrecht (same comment as for Zeeland). Aruba, Curaï¿½ao, Sint Maarten, and Caribbean Netherlands are associated with the Netherlands. The Caribbean Netherlands comprises Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, which are special municipalities of the Netherlands. The other three entities are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Since ISO 3166 assigns them separate country codes, this site treats them as separate countries. However, as of Newsletter II-3, in addition to their country codes, ISO 3166-2 has assigned alternate codes to these entities as parts of Netherlands. They are the same as the country codes with NL- prefixed.

for Netherlands lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions. Origins of names: Drenthe: Germanic ï¿½rija: three, hantja: countries Friesland: Land of the Frisii, from ethnic name Groningen: Germanic Groningja, from groni: green Gelderland: Germanic gelwa: yellow, haru: mountain Limburg: Germanic lindo: linden, burg: fort.

Noord-Brabant: Dutch Noord: north, Old High German bracha: new country, bant: region Noord-Holland: Dutch Noord: north + Old Dutch, either holt: woods or hol: hollow, land: land Overijssel: Dutch over: beyond, since the province was beyond the IJssel River from Utrecht Utrecht: corruption of Latin Trajectum: ford (ad Rhenum: on the Rhine) Zeeland: Dutch zee: sea (land in the sea) Zuid-Holland: Dutch Zuid: south + Holland Change history: The Netherlands have repeatedly reclaimed land from the sea by building polders. There have been four major polders (and some smaller ones) in the 20th century. In 1932, the Wieringen-Friesland Barrage (dike) enclosed the Zuider Zee (South Sea), whereupon its name was changed to IJsselmeer (Yssel Lake). 1930: Wieringermeer Polder completed, adding 195 sq. km. to Noord-Holland. 1942: Noord-Oost Polder completed (504 sq.

km.) as a municipality not belonging to any province. ~1954: Noord-Oost Polder annexed to Overijssel. 1957-06: East Flevoland completed. 1969: South Flevoland completed. 1986-01-01: Flevoland province formed from the municipalities of Dronten and Lelystad (East Flevoland), the administrative area of Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders (South Flevoland), and Noord-Oost Polder (taken from Overijssel). The ISO draft standard doesn't show this change. ISO and FIPS codes for the entities as they stood before the change were Dronten (DT, NL12), Lelystad (LE, NL14), Overijssel (OV, NL08), and Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders (ZI, NL13). 1993-11-01: Under the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union replaced the European Communities, of which the Netherlands was a member.

2002-01-01: Vianen municipality moved from Zuid-Holland province to Utrecht province. Also, Loosdrecht municipality moved from Utrecht province to Noord-Holland province, at the same time merging with two other municipalities to form Wijdemeren.

Other names of subdivisions: Friesland: Frise (French); Frisia (Italian, Spanish); Frï¿½sia (Portuguese); Fryslï¿½n (Frisian) Gelderland: Geldern (German); Gheldria (Portuguese); Guelders (obsolete); Gueldre (French) Groningen: Groninga (Italian, Portuguese); Groningue (French) Limburg: Limbourg (French); Limburgo (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) Noord-Brabant: Brabante del Norte (Spanish); Brabante do Norte (Portuguese); Brabante settentrionale (Italian); Brabant-septentrional (French); Nord-Brabant (German); North Brabant (variant) Noord-Holland: Holanda do Norte (Portuguese); Hollande-septentrionale (French); North Holland (variant) Utrecht: Utreque (Portuguese) Gelderland | province, Netherlands | Britannica.com province, Netherlands Netherlands Gelderland, also called Guelders, provincie (province), eastern and central Netherlands .

It extends from the German border westward to the narrow Lake Veluwe (separating Gelderland from several polders of Flevoland province) between the provinces of Overijssel (north) and Noord-Brabant , Zuid-Holland , and Utrecht (south). The capital is Arnhem . Dutch Reformed church, Ammerzoden, Gelderland province, Neth. © Ivonne Wierink/Shutterstock.com The province’s history began with the countship of Gelre, or Geldern, established in the 11th century around castles near Roermond and Geldern (now in Germany). The counts of Gelre acquired the Betuwe and Veluwe regions and, through marriage, the countship of Zutphen . Thus had the counts of Gelre laid the foundation for a territorial power that, through control of the Rhine, Waal, Meuse, and IJssel rivers, was to play an important role in the later Middle Ages. The geographical position of their territory dictated the external policy of the counts during the following centuries: they were committed to the interests of the Holy Roman Empire and to expansion south and west.

Further enlarged by the acquisition of the imperial city of Nijmegen in the 13th century, the countship was raised to a duchy in 1339 by the German king, Louis the Bavarian . After 1379 the duchy was ruled from Jülich and by the counts of Egmond and Cleves . The duchy resisted Burgundian domination, but William the Rich (duke of Jülich, Cleves, and Berg) was forced to cede it to Charles V in 1543, after which it formed part of the Burgundian-Habsburg hereditary lands. The duchy revolted with the rest of the Netherlands against Philip II of Spain and joined the Union of Utrecht (1579). After the deposition of Philip II, its sovereignty was vested in the “estates” of Gelderland, and the princes of Orange were stadholders. In 1672 the province was temporarily occupied by Louis XIV; and in 1713 the southeastern part, including the ducal capital of Geldern, fell to Prussia .

Part of the Batavian Republic (1795–1806), of Louis Bonaparte’s kingdom of Holland (1806–10), and of the French Empire (1810–13), Gelderland became a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. Similar Topics Netherlands: History Netherlands History The Rise of the Netherlands One of the Low Countries , the Netherlands did not have a unified history until the late 15th cent. The region west of the Rhine formed part of the Roman province of Lower Germany and was inhabited by the Batavi ; to the east of the Rhine were the Frisians. Nearly the entire area was taken (4th–8th cent.) by the Franks, and with the breakup of the Carolingian empire, most of it passed (9th cent.) to the east Frankish (i.e., German) kingdom and thus to the Holy Roman Empire. The counts of Holland emerged as the most powerful medieval lords of the region, next to their southern neighbors, the dukes of Brabant and the counts of Flanders .

In the 14th and 15th cent., Flanders, Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland, and Brabant passed to the powerful dukes of Burgundy , who controlled virtually all the Low Countries. Though the Dutch towns and ports were slower in economic development than the flourishing commercial and industrial centers of Flanders and Brabant, they began to rival them in the 15th cent. They nearly all belonged to the Hanseatic League and enjoyed vast autonomous privileges. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy by the Great Privilege restored all the liberties deprived by her predecessors. Her marriage to the Archduke Maximilian (later Emperor Maximilian I ) brought the Low Countries into the house of Hapsburg. Emperor Charles V gave them (1555) to his son Philip II of Spain. By that time the northern provinces (i.e., the present Netherlands) had reached economic prosperity. Revolt in the Netherlands The inroads of Calvinism were helping to distinguish the Low Countries from Catholic Spain; the nobles, supported by many of the people for economic and religious reasons, demanded greater autonomy for the provinces in addition to the removal of Spanish officials.

Philip's attempt, first through Cardinal Granvelle and then through the duke of Alba , to introduce the Spanish Inquisition and reduce the Low Countries to a Spanish province met determined opposition from among all classes of the population—Catholics and Protestants alike. The struggle for the Low Countries' independence began (1562–66) in Flanders and Brabant. The northern provinces, under the leadership of William the Silent , prince of Orange, succeeded (1572–74) in expelling the Spanish garrisons. The Low Countries united under William in their struggle against Spain in the Pacification of Ghent (1576). Alessandro Farnese , who in 1578 succeeded John of Austria as Spanish governor, reconquered the southern provinces, which remained in Spanish possession (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish ) and were gradually reconverted to Catholicism. The river barriers were crucial in protecting the rebellion and the Protestant religion of the north. The seven northern provinces—Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland, and Groningen—formed (1579) the Union of Utrecht and declared (1581) their independence.

William the Silent, assassinated in 1584, was succeeded as stadtholder (chief of state) by his son, Maurice of Nassau , who was at first guided by Johan van Oldenbarneveldt . An English expedition under Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester , to aid the Dutch against Farnese was ineffectual; later Maurice won important successes, and in 1609 a 12-year truce was concluded with Spinola , the Spanish commander. The United Provinces Fighting with Spain was resumed in the Thirty Years War (1618–48), after which the independence of the United Provinces—as the independent Netherlands was then called—was recognized in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Spain also ceded North Brabant, with Breda, and part of Limburg, with Maastricht. Still struggling for independence and involved in religious contention between Calvinists and Remonstrants , the Dutch laid the foundation of their commercial and colonial empire. The Dutch East India Company (see East India Company, Dutch ) was founded in 1602, the Dutch West India Company in 1621.

The decline of Antwerp under Spanish rule and the right (awarded to the Dutch in the Peace of Westphalia) to control the Scheldt estuary gave supremacy to the Dutch ports, particularly Amsterdam. Dutch merchants traded in every continent (including exclusive privileges in Japan), and captured the major share of the world's carrying trade. The United Provinces opened their doors to religious refugees, notably to Portuguese and Spanish Jews and to French Huguenots , which contributed vastly to the prosperity of 17th-century Holland. With material wealth came a cultural golden age. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, and others carried Dutch art to its peak. The Univ. of Leiden won world acclaim; the philosophers Descartes and Spinoza and the jurist Grotius were active in the United Provinces. Prince Frederick Henry , who had succeeded his brother Maurice in 1625 as stadtholder, was in turn succeeded by his son, Prince William II , in 1647. His death in 1650 signaled the opponents of the house of Orange to reassert the rights of the provinces and the States-General.

Jan de Witt , the political leader of the estates of Holland, was chosen (1652) grand pensionary and led the Dutch republic for the next 20 years. To prevent Prince William III of Orange (son of William II) from regaining the authority of his father, de Witt by the Eternal Edict (1667) abolished the office of stadtholder in Holland and secured the virtual exclusion of the house of Orange from state affairs. A Succession of Wars De Witt's administration was largely encompassed by the Dutch Wars with England (1652–54, 1664–67), arising out of the first of the English Navigation Acts (1651) and the Dutch-English commercial rivalry. The Treaty of Breda (1667) was advantageous to the Netherlands; it gained trade privileges and had its possession of Suriname recognized. The Netherlands reached the peak of political power when, by forming (1668) the Triple Alliance with Sweden and England, it forced Louis XIV of France to halt the War of Devolution against Spain.

Louis XIV took revenge by starting (1672) the third of the Dutch Wars, in which the French overran the Netherlands. In defense, the Dutch opened their dikes and flooded the country, creating a watery barrier that was virtually impenetrable. De Witt sought to negotiate peace but was murdered (1672) by a mob of Orange followers. The stadtholderate was restored to William III (after 1689 also king of England). The war devastated the provinces, but in the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678–79) the Dutch obtained important concessions from France. The Netherlands again fought Louis XIV in the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–97) and in the War of the Spanish Succession . On the death (1702) of William III the stadtholderate was again suspended and the States-General resumed control of the government, but in 1747 the republican party lost power, and William IV of Orange became hereditary stadtholder. In the 18th cent. the relative commercial, military, and cultural positions of the United Provinces in Europe declined as those of England and France ascended.

The Netherlands sided against England in the American Revolution and as a result lost several colonies at the Treaty of Paris of 1783 (see Paris, Treaty of ). A patriotic movement by J. D. van der Capellen (1741–84) began to popularize the ideas of the Enlightenment; when in the French Revolutionary Wars the French overran (1794–95) the Netherlands, there was much popular approval. William V fled abroad, and the Batavian Republic was set up (1795) under French protection. In 1806, Napoleon I established the Kingdom of Holland and made his brother Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte , family) its first king. Bonaparte was deposed in 1810, and the kingdom was annexed by France, whereby French legal, financial, and educational reforms pervaded the Netherlands. The Kingdom of the Netherlands At the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) the former United Provinces and the former Austrian Netherlands were united under King William I , son of William V of Orange.

In 1830, however, the former Austrian provinces (Belgium), whose language, religion, and culture differed from those of the Dutch, rebelled against Dutch rule and declared independence. An agreement between Belgium and the Netherlands was reached only in 1839 (see London Conference ). William I was forced to abdicate in 1840 and was succeeded by William II , under whom Jan Thorbecke introduced important constitutional reforms in 1848. Under William III (1849–90) the Netherlands enjoyed a period of commercial expansion and internal development. The Industrial Revolution progressed rapidly after 1860. Trade unionism grew in the late 19th cent., and considerable national social-welfare legislation was passed. At the same time the country's cultural life flourished, led by the painter Vincent van Gogh, the writer Louis Couperus, and others. In 1890, Queen Wilhelmina began her reign of almost 60 years. The Netherlands was neutral in World War I.

In 1932, a 19-mi (31-km) dam was completed; it enclosed the Zuider Zee and thus created the IJsselmeer , a large freshwater lake. A number of large polders, including the Northeast Polder and Eastern and Southern Flevoland, were later reclaimed from the IJsselmeer. In World War II, Germany invaded (May, 1940) the Netherlands without warning, crushed Dutch resistance, and wantonly destroyed Rotterdam. The queen and her government fled abroad. German occupation authorities, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, established a reign of terror; underground resistance led to mass executions and deportations. Of the approximately 112,000 Dutch Jews, about 104,000 were deported to Poland by the Germans and exterminated. Allied airborne landings (1944) at Arnhem and Eindhoven liberated Zeeland, North Brabant, and Limburg provinces. The Postwar Years The German collapse in May, 1945, was followed by the immediate return of the queen and the cabinet.

The Netherlands became a charter member of the United Nations (1945) and in 1947 joined in a close alliance with Belgium and Luxembourg, which became (1958) the Benelux Economic Union . The country also participated actively in the development of the organizations that came to be the European Union, and in 1949 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Queen Wilhelmina abdicated (1948) in favor of her daughter, Juliana , who continued to rule with a coalition cabinet dominated by the Catholic and Labor parties. In 1959 a new coalition excluding the Labor party was formed, and similar coalitions primarily held power into the 1970s. The Netherlands gave Indonesia independence in 1949, and in 1962 relinquished Netherlands New Guinea (now Papua ) to Indonesia. Despite the loss of the eastern empire and the catastrophic floodings in the North Sea storms of 1953, the Dutch economy expanded in the 1950s and 60s. Industry was enlarged significantly. After the 1953 floods, the 25-year Delta Project was begun.

As a result of the project, Walcheren and North and South Beveland were joined to the mainland and ceased to be islands. Considerable controversy surrounded the marriage (1966) of Crown Princess Beatrix to Claus von Amsberg, a former German diplomat who had served in the German army in World War II. In 1967, Princess Beatrix gave birth to a son, Willem-Alexander, the first male heir in line of succession since 1884. In the early 1970s the Netherlands enjoyed material prosperity and considerable influence in European affairs. The country suffered, however, from a ban on the sale of petroleum imposed by Arab nations in the wake of the Arab-Israeli War of Oct., 1973, in retaliation for the Netherlands' traditional friendship with Israel. The embargo was lifted in mid-1974. Suriname was granted independence in 1975. In 1980, Queen Juliana was succeeded by Queen Beatrix . In 1981, Prime Minister Van Agt's support for deploying U.S. cruise missiles on Dutch territory caused an intense public outcry.

He was defeated in the 1982 elections, and Ruud Lubbers became the next prime minister, primarily through a coalition of Christian Democrats and Liberals. The Netherlands population increasingly protested against the presence of foreign armaments on their soil, and in the late 1980s nearly 4 million Dutch citizens signed an antimissile petition. Lubbers formed his third government in Nov., 1989. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War the Netherlands sent two marine frigates to aid the anti-Iraq coalition forces. In the 1994 elections the Christian Democrats and their coalition partner, the Labor party, lost seats. With some difficulty a new coalition government of left- and right-wing parties was formed and Labor party leader Wim Kok became prime minister. In early 1995 unusually heavy flooding along major rivers necessitated massive evacuations in the country. Also in 1995, Dutch peacekeepers under UN auspices were overwhelmed by Serb forces in the Bosniak-held town of Srebrenica; the Serbs subsequently massacred Bosnia civilians. Several investigations were launched into the role played by the peacekeepers.

An independent investigation that released its report in 2002 said that UN and Dutch political and military officials shared some of the blame for placing peacekeeping forces in an untenable position, and Prime Minister Kok's government resigned to accept responsibility. In the subsequent election campaign (May, 2002), the right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn, who ran on an anti-immigrant platform, was assassinated, stunning the nation. Voters subsequently veered to the right, giving conservative and rightist parties a majority of the seats in the new parliament. A center-right government, headed by Christian Democrat Jan Peter Balkenende and including Fortuyn's party, was formed in July, but the coalition collapsed in October. Elections in Jan., 2003, gave the Christian Democrats and Labor nearly the same number of seats (44 and 42, respectively) and resulted in significant losses for the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). Balkenende remained prime minister, but the new center-right government excluded the LPF.

Dutch voters strongly rejected a proposed new constitution for the European Union in 2005; voters appeared to resent a likely loss of Dutch influence under the new charter despite their country's sizable contributions to the EU. Balkenende's government fell in June, 2006, when one of the member parties withdrew over a government minister's tough handling of a Somali-born Dutch politician's citizenship case. In November, the parliamentary elections resulted in some lost seats for the Christian Democrats as both far-right and far-left parties increased their seats. Although the Christian Democrats nonetheless remained the largest party, neither the governing coalition nor that aligned with Labor secured a majority in parliament. In Feb., 2007, Balkenende formed a new, centrist coalition government that included Labor. Disagreement over whether to further extend the deployment of Dutch troops with NATO forces in Afghanistan led to the collapse of the government in Feb., 2010, and elections were scheduled for June. The elections were a major defeat for the Christian Democrats, who lost half their seats; the anti-Islamic and Eurosceptic Freedom party won more seats and placed third.

The Liberals won, but secured only one more seat than Labor, and politically the new parliament was very fragmented. In October the Liberals and Christian Democrats agreed to form a minority conservative coalition government with the support of the Freedom party. Liberal Mark Rutte became prime minister. In Apr., 2012, the government collapsed after it could not get Freedom party support to pass an austerity budget; the budget ultimately was passed with the support of other parties. In the September elections, the Liberals and Labor won the largest blocs of seats, and subsequently formed a coalition government with Rutte as prime minister. Queen Beatrix abdicated in Mar., 2013; King Willem-Alexander succeeded her. Sections in this article: Holland Map and Map of Holland History Information Page There is often confusion about Holland. Some people call the Netherlands, Holland, but it is not the same. Holland is only a small part of the Netherlands and like the Dakotas, Carolinas and Virginias, there are two. There's "North-Holland" (Capital city is Haarlem) and "South-Holland" (Capital city is The Hague). Holland used to be an independent country.

It had a "Count", its own coinage (until the 19th century), its own measuring units and time - but it gave up that independence in the 16th century, when it allied with the Northern and Southern Netherlands against the armies of the King of Spain whom at the time was officially the "Count of Holland" and ruled over this whole area. The main reasons for war were religious differences, disputes over taxes and the fact that when some cities wanted to break free, the King's army was quite brutal to civilians. Eventually the Southern Netherlands gave up the fight and stayed occupied by foreign forces until 1830. That area is now called Belgium. The Northern Netherlands fought on and won. Then, along with the counties (of Holland, Drente, Groningen, Friesland, Gelderland, Zeeland and Utrecht) becoming a free Republic, including the occupied regions of Brabant and Limburg. All these counties (called provinces today, together with some new ones) are now called "The Kingdom of the Netherlands." Today the province of Limburg still has a Governor and to say to someone from Limburg or Friesland that he or she is from Holland, is considered an insult. They are not!

They consider themselves to be from the Netherlands. They even have their own language. People from other Provinces (except North and South Holland) will perhaps not consider it a real insult, but still they're not from Holland. In summary, Holland gave up its individual independence a very long time ago, so calling the Netherlands "Holland", is much like calling Great Britain "England." Wrong in both cases.

Netherlands Land Statistics - World Atlas Coastline: 451 km (280.24 miles) Land Area: (land) 13,086 sq miles (33,893 sq km) (water) 2,954 sq miles (7,650 sq km) (TOTAL) 16,040 sq miles (41,543 sq km) To convert sq km (kilometers) to sq mi (miles) Land Area: (all countries) Land Divisions: (12) The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces, or administrative regions, including: Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland Province: (largest by pop.) South Holland, 3,458,8752 Province: (largest by size) Gelderland, 4,974 sq km Horizontal Width: 164 km (101 miles) from The Hague, directly east to the German border Vertical Length: 262 km

 (162 miles) from Leeuwarden directly south to Maastricht Note: Lengths and widths are point-to-point, straight-line measurements from a Mercator map projection, and will vary some using other map projections Bordering Countries: (2) Belgium and Germany Geographic Center: 9.97 km (6.2 miles) west of Apeldoorn Highest Point: Vaalserberg0 (322 m) (1056 ft) Lowest Point: Zuidplaspolder (-7 m) (-22 ft) Holland Guide | Holland.net Holland Guide The Hague (seat of government) Area 400.6 per sq.km.

(1,037.7 per sq.mi.) Land Boundaries Total: 1027 km Border countries: Belgium (450 km), Germany (577km) Monarch Time Zone UTC +1 The land of the windmills, tulips, art and liberalism – this is Holland, a major cultural, economic and political hub in Europe. Holland is often referred to and interchangeably called Netherlands, even though officially Holland only makes up roughly about 15% of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. It first became an independent republic in 1572, following the Dutch revolt led by William of Orange. It became a country in 1805 upon the appointment of King William I as “King of Holland.” World War II and the Nazi occupation have left the country in near ruins and devastation, but it was able to rebuild itself. It became a member of the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), an economic union of the monarchies and is considered as the precursor of the European Union. Today, Holland enjoys a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch and is a founding member of NATO and the European Community.

This low-lying country is divided by three large bodies of water: the Rijn, the Waal and the Meuse. The terrain is generally flat and portions of the land are just at or below sea level. Climate is moderate with warm summers and cool winters, but rainfall is prevalent the whole year round. The country is comprised of 12 provinces: Flevoland, North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht, Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen, West Frisian Islands, Gelderland, Overijssel, Limburg, North Brabant and Zeeland. Each province has an elected Governor The population is predominantly Dutch nationals (or those with Dutch ancestry), but there is also a sizeable percentage of diverse ethnic groups in the country. There are the Turkish, Indonesian, German, Moroccan, Surinamese and migrants from the dependent areas of Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Netherlands is the 27th most densely populated around the world, with Amsterdam in North Holland being the largest city. About a quarter of the population are Roman Catholics – a remnant of the Christian heritage of the country. Other religious groups include Dutch Reformed, Calvinist, Muslims and Protestants.

Today, secularity is growing with about 41% of the population with no pronounced religion. The Netherlands has always been an economic powerhouse in Europe, leading the way in shipping, trade, banking, manufacturing and exporting. It relies mainly on international trade. It has produced multinational giants such as Unilever, Heineken, Philips, ING and Shell. Amsterdam is the hub of trading in the country, with the Amsterdam Stock Exchange being the world’s oldest stock exchange market. Rotterdam on the other hand maintains the largest port in Europe. As the country is one of the founding member of the EU, it had to replace its former currency, the guilder, with the euro. Since the 19th century, the Netherlands has maintained a constitutional monarchy, and a parliamentary democracy system. The head of the state is the monarch and is given limited powers through the constitution. The head of the government is called the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The country is also known for its liberal policies and the atmosphere of tolerance – the seat of government and the home of the States-General lies at The Hague, and it is also where all the government ministries, foreign embassies and international organizations hold offices.

International judicial bodies are in the Netherlands such as the International Criminal Court, the Eurojust and the International Court of Justice. The country is recognized for its historical landmarks, natural attractions as well as cultural traditions and scientific breakthroughs. It has produced some of the greatest painters in the history of art such as Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer and great Dutch scientists such as Christiaan Huygens and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. The Netherlands has the most number of museums in the world and showcase diverse and varied fields of architecture, art, history and nature. It is also in the forefront of architecture and has six of its historical landmarks on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Dutch culture is also famous for other reasons. The Dutch people are proud of their cheeses with each province and region producing its own variety of high-quality cheeses. Millions of visitors also come to Holland for its windmills, tulip and flower festivals and its international music and arts festivals celebrated all year round.

The Difference between Holland & the Netherlands — CGP Grey Utrecht, and here's the confusion: Noord (North) Holland and Zuid (South) Holland These provinces make calling the Netherlands 'Holland' like calling the United States 'Dakota'. Though unlike the Dakotas, which are mostly empty, save for the occasional Jackalope, the two Hollands are the most populated provinces and have some of the biggest attractions like, Amsterdam and Keukenhof. Chances are if it's Dutch, and you've heard of it, it's in one of the Hollands. Even the government's travel website for the country is Holland.com -- officially because it sounds friendlier, but unofficially it's probably what people are actually searching for. Confusion continues because: People who live in the Hollands are called Hollanders, but all citizens of the Netherlands are called Dutch as is their language. But in Dutch they say: Nederlands sprekende Nederlanders in Nederland which sounds like they'd rather we call them Netherlanders speaking Netherlandish. Meanwhile, next door in Germany, they're Deutsche sprechen Deutsch in Deutschland. Which sounds like they'd rather be called Dutch.

This linguistic confusion is why Americans call the Pennsylvania Dutch Dutch even though they're Germans. To review: this country is the Netherlands, its people are Dutch, they speak Dutch. There is no country called Holland, but there are provinces of North and South Holland. Got it? Great, because it's about to get more complicated. The Netherlands is part of a Kingdom with the same name: The Kingdom of the Netherlands -- which is headed by the Dutch Royal Family. The Kingdom of the Netherlands contains three more countries and to find them we must sail from the icy North Sea to the Caribbean and Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten. These are no territories, but self-governing countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and as such they have their own governments, and their own currencies. Geography geek side note here: While Aruba and Curaçao are islands, Sint Maarten is just the Southern Half of a tiny island also named Saint Martin the other half of which is occupied by France and also named Saint Martin. So despite being separated by Belgium on the European map, The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Republic share a border on the other side of the world on an island so nice they named it thrice.

But why does the Kingdom of the Netherlands reach to the Caribbean anyway? Because, Empire. In the 1600s the Dutch, always looking to expand business, laid their hands on every valuable port they could. For a time, America's East Coast was 'New Netherland' with its capital city of New Amsterdam. There was New Zealand, as mentioned previously, and nearby, the king of the islands, New Holland. Though the empire is gone, these three Caribbean nations remain. And while four countries in one kingdom, isn't unheard of, it doesn't stop there, because the country of the Netherlands, also extends its borders to the Caribbean and three more islands: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. These are not countries in a Kingdom, but are cities of the Country of the Netherlands and they look the part. Residents of these far-flung cities vote in elections for the Dutch government just as any Hollander would. Though, weirdly, they don't belong to any province and they don't use the Dutch currency of Euros, they use Dollars instead. It's kind of like if Hawaii wasn't a state, but technically part of the District of Columbia, all the while using the Yen.

These cities of the Country of the Netherlands and these countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are together are known as the Dutch Caribbean. And their citizens are Dutch citizens. Which, because the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a member of the European Union, means these Dutch Caribbeans are also Europeans. So in the end, there are 6 Caribbean islands, four countries, twelve provinces, two Hollands, two Netherlands and one kingdom, all Dutch. Notes & Corrections The ç in Curaçao should be pronounced with an 's' sound. Frieslanders will often claim that the little hearts on their flag are actually waterlillies, but that's only because they are embarassed by the little hearts on their flag.

Question: Which European country has provinces called Zeeland, Friesland and Gelderland?
Answer: THE NETHERLANDS